Bucks in no rush to ‘play the kids’

COLLINGWOOD coach Nathan Buckley says calls for his side to “play the kids” are misinformed and the Magpies’ young talent coming through will feature at AFL level “if they’re ready”.

Buckley confirmed that first-year midfielder Finlay Macrae would make his debut against West Coast on Friday night, but vowed not to rush in other inexperienced players before they earned their spots in the VFL.

“‘Play the kids’ is a common refrain at the moment,” Buckley said. “If I was sitting watching the footy with my grandpa back in the day he’d yell, ‘just kick it’. Play the kids makes about as much sense as that.

“If they’re ready, they’ll play, and Finn’s deserved his opportunity, as Oli (Henry) did through the pre-season, as

Beau McCreery (pictured) did leading into last weekend.

“We’re trying to reward good form and clearly our patchy form up top is providing opportunity for guys who are putting consistent form in underneath.”

Buckley said clubs like Sydney were in a better position to play youth, especially this year.

Collingwood had five picks in the top 31 selections in last year’s national draft, but four played no football in 2020 given the NAB League in Victoria was scrapped.

“The Swans have an academy that they’ve been running young players through for two or three years before they become of age,” Buckley said. “We don’t have that luxury. If something’s not working, you can’t stick with it. But you also need something to go to and the expectation of throwing young players in, especially when a lot of them haven’t played for 18 months is not wise.”